Here we are at Item four, which is not fourth most important one but perhaps the most primary. To be honest, all five items I am covering have to happen pretty much at the same time, but the order of which to prioritize depend a lot on the urgency of individual communities. Item four is already under way for many communities trying to be sustainable – it perhaps is the easiest one to start and certainly the easiest for an individual person. We all have to eat to live. So, growing your own food should be a no brainer. It is only in the last 60 years that we completely handed over our food to the corporate system with the dream of the so-called ‘Green Revolution’ that heralded in bioengineering as a way to grow food with all its chemicals and genetic manipulation. The agricultural business aspect was already entrenched during the 1500-1850 period and merged with the industrial revolution to make food a business commodity. And we thought that was a good idea? Some things are just not meant to be in the hands of technocratic authoritarians who see profits and balance sheets and not people.
The first three items, Mindfulness, the Economy, and what we Measure as important, help bring us local control of the two items that make our modern lives possible: item four, Food, and; item five, Energy. Listening to the economists and why we needed to scale up food production and energy generation sounded good; And maybe for a short period of a few decades worked fine. However, the fragility of both systems at national and international scales has led to severe ecological problems and increasing subservience to autocratic and corporate control. While many aspects of a new economy will change how we view scale of production of everything, food and energy have to be localized as absolute essentials that WE control. Food and energy are so absolutely essential to our lives, surely, they should be ‘rights’ that we all enjoy and not profit generating enterprises. That cannot happen in a competitive and social Darwinian world, but can in a collaborative compassionate society that values sovereign individualism and community integration.
As an example of what is happening right in front of our eyes; In my garden here in Colorado, I look at the flowering trees and for the first time do not see a single bee of any kind buzzing around the copious spring flowers in the garden, bushes and trees. My neighbors notice the same thing. A dearth of bees this year when all previous years the bees are usually busy as they can be going back and forth. It looks like I might be getting out the Q-Tips to pollinate the garden. Bee colony collapse is one of our biggest global problems. Bees and other pollinating insects pollinate over 70% of the world’s crops. Now imagine all the crops that need pollinating this Spring in the northern hemisphere!! How many farm workers armed with Q-tips does it take to pollinate a 20,000 acre farm during the short period when crops flower? How about several million acres? When will we all start to take notice?
Consider that the USA has 895 million acres of arable land (population 347 million). China has 422 million acres of arable land (population 1.4 billion) – they also farm land in other countries (mainly in third world countries and not shared with local populations). The UK has 42 million acres of arable land (population 70 million). Holland has 5.4 million acres farmland (population 18 million). Russia has 300 million acres of arable land (population 144 million people). Saudi Arabia 4 million acres of arable land (population 34 million people). While the USA looks impressive, 85% of annual crops are grains (think feedlots) and oilseeds (cooking, industrial oils, biodiesel). I’m not trying to overwhelm you with numbers; merely to emphasize that we have large populations with poor ratios of real food per capita, and most of it industrially produced (lots of corporate Ag chemicals). Then throw in the supply chains of food and the corporate processing and you get …. A picture of a fragile system we are all totally dependent upon, most of it designed to maximize profits, not give you quality nutrient, or more importantly, food security.
I always strive to be positive, but sometimes, a sobering look at reality is needed to bring home something critical. If you like to eat, don’t depend on your credit card for food. Grow your own. Even better, grow it with all your neighbors. That way you know its nutrient value is high, organic (if you value your health), and a great way to build individual and community self-sufficiency for a sustainable future. Locally grown high quality, nutrient rich, organic food consumed directly has a much higher EROI than food used for feedlots, and also omits the high shipping energy cost. This becomes clear if you measure ‘emergy.’ Do WE have to go to the edge of the abyss before WE start making choices that benefit us, instead of listening to uncaring hierarchies and technocrats in their economic high towers?
Start a peaceful revolution – grow your own food and begin talking about how you can localize energy generation for sustainable self-sufficiency. The sustainability revolution is just that; a change in our worldview to live life differently. Not a change in any hierarchy as has been the path for so many centuries. A move back to sharing and caring about each other. Something humanity once had before the ‘Great Fall’ from grace. Nealy all cultures have a story about how humans were thrown out of the Garden of Eden, just interpreted in different ways. The evidence shows it is a real story, but when understood more completely, tells a story of how humanity became separated from its true nature to live within hierarchical control (the Empire Building era, which we are still in). Let’s literally go back to the garden – not the mythical one – but the one where we control our food without hierarchical management (see my longer explanation starting with this link then use “Ishmael” tag for rest).
If you have any natural areas by your home – garden, backyard, front garden, whatever – revisualize it as a crop garden. I have a friend whose backyard is concrete, so rather that break up the concrete, he can build raised beds. Whatever your options, think ‘grow your own food.’ If you live in flats (apartments) then look for open areas around the building, or nearby scrub land – whatever – and get some neighbors to join you in creating allotments and garden beds. It doesn’t all have to be crops. Wildflowers on the borders or interspersed between crop rows not only add color and visual beauty, but they encourage bees and other pollinators. Organic famers worldwide are decreasing pesticide use by planting intermittent rows of wildflowers among their crops to attract ‘helpful insects (e.g., Ladybugs) to eliminate crop-damaging pests.
If there already gardeners in your team, let them guide you, but don’t be afraid to explore other methods of growing plants. Lots of downed wood and broken branches? – try Hugelkultur. Think about it as all being part of a circular process of preparation and cultivation. Pick up a Permaculture book as a manual to help you expand your knowledge. Permaculture Books by Bill Mollison, Peter Bane, Bernard Alonso, and Ross Mars are excellent books to use as references. I have a ‘farmette’ next door to me that I help out with and receive produce during the growing season. I also get incredible organic eggs from open-range chickens and ducks most of the year, for similar price to organic free-range eggs from the grocery store.
Start small and then grow from there as you and your friends find what works and what doesn’t work in your area. Don’t wait until the shit hits the fan before you start. Get into the mindset of organic farming even if you intend to remain small scale. Go to the farmers markets and talk with the farmers. Can you help out on local farms? Can you help farmers become more organic by helping create ‘Community Supported Agriculture (CSA’s) in cooperative farming where your community works with farmers to negate their risk by providing guaranteed markets for all the produce. Stop expecting your produce to look perfect. The blemished crops and fruit are every bit as good as the A-looking produce you pay for.
More ideas to come …………………….
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